


We'll Fix It

by Spectascopes



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Depressed Sans, Fighting, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2016-03-08
Packaged: 2018-05-25 14:39:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6198952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spectascopes/pseuds/Spectascopes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans is lazy and frustrating- Papyrus is hot-headed and tempermental, and both are still young. It all comes to a head and Papyrus finds out his brother has been hiding some pretty heavy shit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We'll Fix It

  
Papyrus stomped into the house with angry tears in his eyes. Three months- they’d been in Snowdin for three months and Sans had already made his brother look like a complete and total idiot. How hard was it to get out of bed and come meet a new friend? How hard was it to stop over and grab a cinnamon bunny or two from the shop when he asked? Did Sans really care so little about his brother that he’d stand him up three times in a row- three!- and completely forget that he’d messed up in the first place?

“Sans!” Papyrus shouted, and he saw the smaller skeleton jump from the couch like a gun had went off. He’d been sleeping- he was supposed to be with Papyrus and his new friend, Undyne, but he’d decided to take a nap instead.

“Pap, hey, wow, a little loud there, don’tcha think?” Sans asked, stretching his arms over his head and popping his bones. “Maybe you could-“

Sans turned and saw the taller monster standing near the door with tears running down his face. The older brother jumped to his feet immediately.

“Pap, what’s wrong, what happened-“

“You don’t even know!” Papyrus shouted, well aware that he was a blubbery mess. “You promised you’d be there today and you didn’t come- we waited for an hour!”

Realization flashed in Sans’s eyes.

“I… oh my god, Pap, I’m so sorry, I-“

“No! No, no, no! You can’t just keep saying you’re sorry and not fix anything!” Papyrus cried, stamping his foot on the ground. “You never change- you promised! Sans, you promised.”

“Papyrus, I’m sorry, this is my fault, I’m sorry…” Sans said quietly. He wouldn’t meet his brother’s eyes.

Papyrus clenched his fists and grit his teeth. “I know! I know you’re sorry, but you aren’t sorry enough to fix anything! You just sleep and eat and then sleep some more and you don’t even go to work half the time! How am I supposed to deal with this?”

“I… I’m trying, Pap, seriously,” Sans said, but his voice wasn’t so quiet. “I said I was sorry.”

“You aren’t trying! You never try-“ Papyrus wailed, stomping over and shoving his finger in Sans’s face. “You don’t even get out of bed! No matter what I do- and I thought coming here would help, I thought it’d get better, but you still drink and you sleep and you don’t do anything-“

“Knock it off, Papyrus,” Sans said, shoving his brother’s hand away.

“I trusted you!” Papyrus all but shouted, and all the years of drinking and sleeping and doing absolutely nothing were catching up to him. He shoved his brother’s shoulder. “I’ve tried everything- I’ve been the best brother anybody could ever want-“

“Maybe you should try getting your head out of your ass,” Sans hissed, and he pushed Papyrus back. “Maybe you should try understanding, or, or, I don’t know, maybe-“ Sans didn’t have a single thing to use against his brother, so he shoved him again. Papyrus was right. He was right about everything.

Papyrus hit him. Sans didn’t hesitate for a second- he slapped Papyrus across the face.

“Maybe I should just leave- you’d be better off without me, right?” Sans growled, but there were tears in his eyes. “That’s what you think, isn’t it?” He grabbed Papyrus and threw him to the ground, but the tall skeleton caught him and took him to the floor with him.

They fought. They fought because words weren’t enough to express how much they were hurting. Like they were kids again, it all piled up, all the anger and lies and the horrible way they’d lived for so long. Sans’s jacket that he never took off and probably didn’t wash snagged on one of Papyrus’s fingers, but Papyrus was much bigger and stronger than his brother.

He pinned Sans down. Papyrus was still crying- he was angry and frustrated and he’d regret it as soon as this was over but he’d reached his limit.

  
Sans brought one of his knees up to keep some space between him and his brother. Papyrus opened his mouth to say something, spit something hurtful, anything to make the awful, dull ache in his chest go away, but then Sans’s shorts slid up and he caught sight of his entire exposed femur.

Papyrus’s breath hitched and he went dead still. Sans seemed confused for a second, but then he saw his leg and he struggled free of Papyrus’s now-weak hold and yanked his shorts back down.

Papyrus looked at his brother. Sans’s eyes didn’t meet his as he wiggled out from under Papyrus, who let him go.

“Sans-“

“Stop. Papyrus, stop.”

Papyrus stared at him. His femur had been covered in wounds.

“Brother… did you do that?” he asked, voice raw.

“No- yes. Please, just… just drop it,” Sans croaked. He’d risen to his feet and turned away. He hugged himself.

“Sans, did you do that?” Papyrus repeated, trying to steady his voice.

Sans didn’t answer. He stood, looking small and fragile. Papyrus gently rose, but didn’t get closer.

“Sans, answer me- please, brother.”

“Yes- yes, okay? I did it. But it doesn’t matter, alright, I’m fine.”

“S-Sans…” Papyrus mumbled, taking a step towards his brother. He knew about chipping- he knew that those lines had been too meticulous and even to be anything else. Some of them weren’t fully healed.

“I-I said stop, Pap,” Sans said, but his voice broke and he had to swallow. “I said I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine.”

“I-I… I’m… I’m fine, okay? I already told you- and I know I’m just a big, fat, useless waste and I know you’d be better off without me but I’m fine, and I-I’m sorry. I… I’m sor-“

Papyrus moved forward and hugged him. Sans tensed for a second, a little whimper escaping his mouth.

“I’m sorry you have to put up with me,” Sans cried. He gently wrapped his hands around his brother’s ribcage. “I… I know it’d be better if I were… not here-“

“I love you,” Papyrus said, holding Sans tighter. He was still crying. “Please don’t say that.”

“I-I’ts true though… isn’t it?” Sans sobbed, but he buried his face in Papyrus’s scarf. His back shook. “I think about it- I-I think about it a lot, Pap, about how much better it’d be- If- if I was dead-“

“Stop, Sans, please stop,” Papyrus cried, and he held Sans in primal fear. “You can’t ever die- you can’t ever, ever die, because I wouldn’t know what to do without you.”

“I’m sorry,” Sans sobbed. “I’m really sorry I’m such a terrible fucking brother-“

“You’re the best brother- you’re the best brother in the whole word,” Papyrus said, “and I wouldn’t want anybody else to be my brother. I didn’t know, Sans- I didn’t know it was this bad, I’m the one who should be sorry.”

Sans didn’t say anything else, but he held onto Papyrus like he was a lifeline. Like if he let go, he’d float away into dust.

“S-Sans- promise you won’t. Please promise you won’t- go away. Please don’t go away, Sans.”

“I love you, Pap,” he whimpered. “I love you so much.”

“I love you more- I love you more than anything else in the whole world,” Papyrus said. “And- and I don’t care if you’re broken, we’ll fix it- no more yelling, or fighting, we’ll make it better. Please promise, Sans.”

“I promise,” Sans choked out between sobs.

Papyrus’s anger had burned out, only to be replaced with sadness and fear and love. So much love.

Papyrus knew his brother hated promises.  



End file.
